Linking PFAS exposure to thyroid disruption and innate immunity

NIH RePORTER · NIH · R03 · $73,399 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) can be detected in the serum of 98% of Americans and have been linked to several severe health effects, including cancer and inflammatory diseases. Many of these health effects are linked to dysregulation of innate immune function, but how PFASs impact innate immunology is widely unknown. Preliminary data show that PFAS exposure suppresses innate immune function in vitro and in vivo. Further, PFAS exposure is associated with thyroid disease, and normal thyroid hormone levels are essential for innate immune function. Therefore, the central hypothesis is that PFAS-induced immunotoxicity is mediated by decreased thyroid hormone signaling. This hypothesis will be tested for multiple structurally diverse PFASs in both human innate immune cell lines and a hypothyroid zebrafish model. Aim 1 will determine if PFAS-induced suppression of natural killer (NK) cell function requires thyroid hormone signaling in vitro. Aim 2 will determine if PFAS-induced suppression of phagocyte cell function requires thyroid hormone signaling in vivo and in vitro. This work will begin to fill the knowledge gap surrounding PFAS-induced toxicity, specifically as it relates to their immunotoxicity and their potential mechanisms of action. Successful completion of this project will inform hazard identification and risk assessment processes and may lead to improved regulation of PFASs in the environment.

Key facts

NIH application ID
10303261
Project number
1R03ES032532-01A1
Recipient
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY RALEIGH
Principal Investigator
Jeffrey A Yoder
Activity code
R03
Funding institute
NIH
Fiscal year
2021
Award amount
$73,399
Award type
1
Project period
2021-08-16 → 2023-07-31